Sa’altu Qalbi - The Oneness of Action and Existence #
Verses #
The Oneness of Action and Existence - (Sa'altu Qalbi)
1 #
سَأَلْتُ قَلبِي عَنْ قُرْبِ رَبِّي
saʾaltu qalbī ʿan qurb rabī
I asked my heart about the nearness of my Lord,
فَقَالَ لَا شَكَّ هُوَ حَاضِرْ
faqāla lā shakka huwa ḥāḍir
so it said, ‘There is no doubt that He is present.’
2 #
فَقُلْتُ مَا لِي لَا أَرَاهُ
faqultu mā lī lā arāhu
I said, ‘What is wrong with me that I do not see Him?’
فَقَالَ لِي هُوَ فِيكَ ظَاهِرْ
faqāla lī huwa fīka ẓāhir
And it said to me, ‘He is manifest in you.’
3 #
فَقُلْتُ هَذَا الْأَمْرُ عَجِيبٌ
faqultu hādhā al-amru ʿajībun
I said, “This is truly astonishing -
فَكَيْفَ يَخْفَى وَالنُّورُ بَاهِرْ
fakayfa yakhfā wa-al-nūru bāhir
how can He be hidden when light is brilliant?'
4 #
فَقَالَ وَهُمٌ هُوَ الْحِجَابُ
faqāla wahmun huwa al-ḥijābu
So it said, ‘It is illusion that is the veil:
وَهْوَ لِكُلِّ الأَنامِ قَاهِر
wahuwa likulli al-anāmi qāhir
and it overpowers each and every one.'
5 #
لَكِنَّ مَنْ كَانَ ذَا اجْتِبَاءِ
lākinn man kāna dhā ijtibāʾin
‘However, the one who is chosen
غَابَ عَنِ الْوَهْمِ بِالسَّرَائِر
ghāba ʿani al-wahmi bi-al-sarāʾir
withdraws from illusion through his secrets.
6 #
وَصَارَ رُوحًا بِغَيْرِ جِسْمٍ
wa-ṣāra rūḥan bighayri jism
‘And he becomes a spirit without body
وَشَاهَدَ الرَّبَّ بِالْبَصَائِرْ
wa-shāhada al-rabba bi-al-baṣāʾir
and directly sees the Lord with inner sight.'
7 #
فَغَايَةُ الفَتْحِ في الشُّهُودِ
faghāyatu al-fatḥi fī al-shuhūd
So the goal of opening in vision
لِحَضْرَةٍ مَا لَهَا مِنْ سَاتِر
li-ḥaḍratin mā lahā min sāṭir
is a Presence that has no veil.
8 #
فَلَيْسَ فِعْلٌ وَلَا وُجُودٌ
falaysa fiʿlun walā wujūdun
For the great there is neither action
لِغَيْرِ رَبِّي عِنْدَ الأَكَابِرْ
lighayri rabī ʿinda al-akābir
nor existence from other than my Lord.
9 #
فَكُلُّ مَنْ بَاحَ بِاخْتِيَارٍ
fakullu man bāḥa bi-ikhtiyārin
Whoever divulges the Secret by choice,
مِنْ غَيْرِ إِذْنِ لَهُ الزَّوَاجِرْ
min ghayri idhnin lahu al-zawājir
without Idhn, has restrictions placed on him.
10 #
يَا رَبِّ إِفْتَحْ لَنَا الْبَصَائِر
yā rabb iftaḥ lanā al-baṣāʾir
O Lord, open our inner sight for us
وَنُوِّرُ الْقَلْبِ وَالسَّرَائِرِ
wa-nūwiru al-qalbi wa-al-sarāʾir
and illumine our heart and our secret.
11 #
ثُمَّ الصَّلَاةُ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ
thumma al-ṣalātu ʿalā al-nabī
Then bless the Prophet as long as there is a lover
مَا جَدَّ حِبُّ وَسَارَ سَائِر
mā jadda ḥibbun wa-sāra sāʾir
serious in his love and a wayfarer journeying.
12 #
وَءَالِهِ وَالصَّحَابِ جَمْعًا
wa-ʾālihi wa-al-ṣaḥābi jamʿan
And his family and Companions altogether,
مَا طَارَ شَوْقًا لِلَّهِ طَائِر
mā ṭāra shawqan lillāhi ṭāʾir
as long as there is one who flies to Allah with longing.